Out of Order
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Baileywick is about to lose it. The day before an important party, nearly everything seems to go wrong: streamers are constantly falling, part of the floor is scratched, things are breaking… He needs help, and fast.


Out of Order

Summary: Baileywick is about to lose it. The day before an important party, nearly everything seems to go wrong: streamers are constantly falling, part of the floor is scratched, things are breaking… He needs help, and fast.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Sofia the First_!

A/N: See? It's not just Cedric and Miranda having problems with things going wrong. Now poor Baileywick gets his turn (again), unfortunately. I suppose it's like that old saying—if something _can_ go wrong, it _will_. But don't worry. Where there's a Sofia, there's a solution. ;)

*Story*

"No, no, no!" Baileywick groaned as nearly all of the streamers strung around the ballroom began drooping before ultimately falling from the walls. "Oh, for goodness—this is the _third_ time they've fallen! We need to secure them better, people."

"We tried, sir," one of the workers insisted with an impatient sigh. "They simply won't stay…unless, perhaps, you have something really sticky."

"Sticky?" The steward made a face. "And what would King Roland say if I were to apply something that could potentially leave behind that _sticky_ residue? I'd rather not find out."

CRASH! One of the younger workers, a guy probably no older than nineteen, chuckled nervously as he attempted to sweep up a shattered vase. "Sorry!"

"Sorry," Baileywick murmured to himself. "Sorry, he says… And look! The floor is scratched!" He raked one hand down his face. "This is a disaster."

"Calm down, Mr. Baileywick," Violet assured him as she patted him on his shoulder. "It's nothing a good scrub and spackle can't fix."

"Violet, this is _beyond_ scrubbing. This is a nightmare." He sighed in defeat. "Just…take a break, everyone. We'll reconvene in an hour."

With that said, the workers simply dropped their items where they were and left the room quickly so as to avoid the wrath of Baileywick. Oh, sure, he was normally a firm but fair steward, but when he did become overwhelmed or irritated, he wasn't exactly the most pleasant person to be around. They should know. Many of them had worked with him for a number of years.

Baileywick looked around the messy state of the ballroom. There was an important party tomorrow night, and at this rate, he and the other workers were going to be prepping for it right up until it began. It wasn't exactly a foreign concept to him. He'd worked long hours—sometimes days at a time—many times in the past. However, even he knew his limits. He wasn't getting any younger, but that didn't take away from his thoroughness and persistence. Still… There was only so much he could handle before he finally snapped.

"Baileywick?"

The man gasped as he turned, seeing the youngest royal standing behind him. He blinked. "Princess Sofia? What are you doing here?"

She grinned. "I live here."

He couldn't help chuckling as he folded his arms. "I'm aware of that. I meant, what are you doing in _here_? I thought now was usually the time you and Cedric would be doing your lessons or plotting the demise of Grimtrix or whatever it is that you two do."

Sofia smiled and shrugged. "We do that almost every day…and we finished early. Actually Mr. Cedric's sister stopped by, and I wanted to give them some privacy…although he seemed to be waving his hands desperately with a scared look on his face." She giggled. "It almost looked like he didn't want me to leave him with her?"

"Well, knowing Cordelia, I'm not entirely surprised…" He sighed as he turned back to look at the dilapidated room. "Oh, this is going to take forever…"

"That's actually why I stopped by," she admitted as she clasped her hands behind her back. "I heard you talking to the others when I was walking past here, and I was a bit worried about you. You usually don't get that upset about something like this. You arrange things like this all the time." She smiled softly as he glanced down at her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sofia, I appreciate that you're always so willing to aid others, especially me, but I feel as though this is an obstacle I should try to overcome myself. I can't always rely on you to get me out of these situations…"

"Are you serious?" She laughed. "It's kind of what I do! I'm Sofia: helper to all!"

"But you're a princess—"

"And you're my friend," she countered softly, stopping him in his tracks. "And I'll do anything I can to help a friend. I don't care about status, Baileywick. You know that." She put on a determined face as she raised her hands excitedly. "Now, show me what you need help with. We'll get through this together!"

The steward's face changed into one of annoyance as the last section of streamers peeled from the walls and fell directly on top of him, wrapping around his shoulders. He huffed as the girl laughed. "Well, we could start with these ridiculous streamers…"

Sofia shook her head and walked over, removing the offending streamers from her friend. "So what exactly is the problem? They won't stay?"

"No! I've tried everything: wrapping around some of the hooks, tacky…I've done about everything except nail them into the walls, which would be a horrendous disaster."

"Have you tried magic?" Sofia smiled and pulled out her training wand, twirling it around her fingers.

"Um, well…no… I don't exactly have access to magic that easily."

Sofia winked. "You do now!" With a confident command, the princess lifted all of the streamers with her wand and situated them into place along the walls. The room was now filled with several colorful fabrics lining each side of the area. "What else?"

"…I have _got_ to learn at least a little bit of magic one of these days," he laughed incredulously, realizing Sofia had managed to do in ten seconds what he'd been attempting to do for the last two hours. "Okay, well… Terrance accidentally knocked over this vase earlier." He indicated the shattered mess on the floor. "And it scratched the floor also."

"Is Terrance the new guy who works with you?"

"Yes… He's a nice boy, but he's so clumsy sometimes." Baileywick sighed and shook his head. "So, did you have some sort of spell that would repair the vase… _and_ the floor?"

She nodded. "Leave it to me. Mr. Cedric taught me this one."

Baileywick chuckled. "I imagine that's true for a majority of your spells, right?"

Sofia giggled. "Yep! _Fixitus Uptis_!" With her command given, the vase magically repaired itself, as did the scratches in the floor. "How is that?"

He gaped in awe of the girl's magical solution and nodded, a smile forming on his face. "Thank you, Sofia. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She smiled at his words. "Consider it a 'thank you' for all you do for us. I know planning these events can be really stressful, so if you ever find yourself needed help, don't be afraid to ask—even if it's not me. There's only so much one person can do alone, you know?"

Baileywick sighed and nodded in understanding. "Yes, I know all too well." He gasped in mild surprise as the girl hugged him briefly. "Oh, Sofia."

She beamed up at the steward. "You know, from what I hear, hugging is actually good for your health."

"Then I suppose Cedric's health is immaculate," he joked, making her laugh. "Thanks again, Sofia."

She nodded as she turned to leave. "Any time! And I mean that!" With that, she took off.

Baileywick inhaled before exhaling slowly as he observed his surroundings, a renewed sense of calm and determination filling him. "All right. Let's do this."

The end


End file.
